Once Upon a Time, Part 1

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(So much more…)

[Dawn]

(We’re on pg 39 on a word document)

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(That’s amazing.)

[Masøn M.]

(Very very amazing…)

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(Such amaze…)

[riseofthekumquat]

Hours went by as Kristen laid in the hammock. The Phantom stood by, watching her sleep in a totally not creepy at all way. He understood that Kristen had traveled far and probably needed to rest, but this was starting to get crazy. The lightning bugs that had dotted the hillside dispersed and the moon had set, leaving everything in near complete darkness. Then a faint orange glow started to break on the horizon.

“Didn’t even know that there was a sun in this sector. I thought this was a realm of eternal night.”

“Ugghhhh are we still waiting for her,” said Mason, waking up from the sleeping gas.

The Phantom panicked and hit all three of his captives with another dose of sleeping gas. Then he looked over Kristen again.

“MY LOOOOOOVE… DAWN HAS BROKE… MY LOOOOOOVE… IT’S TIME TO-”

Suddenly the ground beneath them began to shake violently, not just horizontally but up and down. The orange sunrise turned to a blood-red color and Kristen’s eyes shot open as she began screaming in agony. There was a bright light, emitting that same blood-red aroura, coming from her left side.

“What’s going on!? What’s wrong Kristen!? KRISTEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNN!”
————————————————————————————————————————

Jupiter is the largest in its respective solar system with a radius of 43,441 miles. One of the planet’s largest features is its Giant Red Spot, a perpetual super-hurricane about 12,400 miles long and 7,500 miles wide, about two to three times larger than Earth. Earth scientists currently had a hard time explaining the massive triangular object sitting right above the storm. The Paramount was a technical marvel with mysterious origins, much like the ACCU which operated inside. Over 800,000 cells used for sleep-induced simulation control, over 90% of which remain empty while 6% are used to house the various Franklin clones and only 4% hold actual test subjects. The bridge of The Paramount is especially deserted now that the ship is coasting in orbit. A lone, round silhouette stands looking out the front window, gazing down at the swirling of red and dark orange clouds below. There was such beauty in the chaos, a storm left alone with no property to destroy or lives to take. Mesmerized by the slow waltz of the winds, one could almost swear they could see the oversized fruit swaying along to it.

“S o o n,” came a whisper as soft and all-encompassing as a fall breeze.

“My lord!” exploded the radio, “We’re having a situation in Cell 7-”

The kumquat’s head rose, snapping out the trance and then shot down the hallway, gliding down the halls of the ship at unnatural speeds.
———————————————————————————————————

“Her heart rate’s going insane, I don’t know if we’ll be able to keep her under at this rate.”
“Forget keeping her under, I don’t know if we’ll be able to keep her alive- WE NEED 60 MILLILITERS OF DROWZYNE IN THE DRIP RIGHT NOW!”

About a dozen Franklin clones are scrambling, trying to treat an unconscious and convulsing Kristen. Suddenly there’s an ear-splitting screeching sound as the reinforced steel door is pulled off its hinges and Lord Kumquat enters the room. All but one of the Franklins back away from Kristen.

“WHAT’S HER STATUS DOCTOR?”
“Her symptoms have worsened, we have to forgo the medication that’s keeping her under in order to make sure that she stays alive.”

Kirsten is still twitching and convulsing until suddenly a soft ringing sound overtakes the room. The kumquat stares intently at her. The medical equipment vibrates violently, the heart rate monitor falls. Then silence overtakes the room. The heart rate monitor is levitated back upright; her heart rate has returned to normal. There’s a collective sigh around the room from everyone but Lord Kumquat. Several strands of hair that were covering her face are tucked to the side.

“What the heck am I the doctor around here for? You can just come down here and solve this with one wave of your hand?”

“HARDLY SOLVED. THE STORM HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN, THE EYE IS AROUND THE CORNER, DOCTOR. GET THAT MEDICATION ON STAND-BY AND FOLD UP THE BOTTOM OF HER SHIRT.”

“What?”

“JUST DO IT!”

Dr. Franklin does as he as told, the kumquat turns to the remaining Franklins.

“RADIO IN A CODE HAZEL, I WANT EVERY SPARE HAND MANNING THE STABILIZERS, 45% POWER, 89 DEGREES TO PORT, AND I WANT THE GRAVITY SHIPWIDE REDUCED TO 90%. ADMIRAL 4567, IF HULL INTEGRITY DROPS BELOW 50% YOU CUT THE GRAVITY COMPLETELY, MOVE SHIP ROTATION TO A SOLID 90 PORT. IF IT DROPS BELOW 40% BEGIN EMERGENCY EVACUATIONS. NOW MOVE!!!”

The Franklins jump at Lord Kumquat’s final command and quickly start calling out orders over the radio and pulling alarms. Then he turns back to Kristen as Dr. Franklin adds additional fluid to the drip.

“I h a v e w a i t e d a l o n g t i m e f o r t h i s,” whispered Lord Kumquat’s melancholy voice.

Kristen’s heart rate raises a bit as the medication is administered, but it quickly levels out. Dr. Franklin steps back.

A minute passes.

Two minutes pass.

Ten minutes pass.

Finally, the lower left side of Kirsten’s stomach starts to glow. It’s hard to fully make out under the fluorescent light at first, but the blood-red aroura grows in intensity with every passing second. Lord Kumquat leans in and sees the source of the glowing: a massive scar in the shape of a butterfly. He stared deep into it, allowing the light to envelop him.
————————————————————————————————————————

There he hovered, in the woods at sunset. The trees cast long shadows over the path that led back to town. As the kumquat floated along the path, he heard voices in the wind.

“But I love him!” echoed through the woods.

He floated up the hill as the last bit of purple faded from the sky.

“No,” whispered the air around the house. No lights on, seemingly nobody home.

“You need power, not love,” as Lord Kumquat opened the front door.

“He’s your weakness,” as he hovered up to the author of those words, laying in a heap with blood pooling out onto the hardwood floor.

It was an odd sight to see a giant kumquat chuckle, but he did it all the same.

“WISE WORDS, I GUESS,” he muttered.

“All the more true now,” came a familiar voice. The kumquat whipped around, scanning furiously for the location of the voice.

Upstairs.

“It’s unbelievable,” the voice continued, “seeing what you’ve become. Pathetic even.”

He levitated towards the staircase.

“You want to wipe out an entire race for a girl? What even are you?”

He opens the door to her room.

“What rules you at this point? What’s your god now?”

He floats past a full-length mirror, but he doesn’t see a kumquat across from him.

“Fear is it? I bet it’s fear,” said the reflection of Super Chris.

“FEAR OF WHAT EXACTLY?”

“Missing out on love, missing out on power. The fear that maybe nothing you sacrificed for matters.”

“ALMOST AS PATHETIC AS FEARING THE OTHER TIME LORDS.”

“Listen to you-”

“NO, LISTEN TO YOU! A GOOD LITTLE BROWN-NOSER RIGHT UP TO THE END. REMIND ME, WAS IT TWO OR THREE DAYS BEFORE THE ELDERS BLAMED YOU THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE IN THE BATTLE OF LITTLE-BIG HILL? DID ANY OF THAT SUCKING UP PAYOUT IN ANY WAY?”

“Being the hero isn’t about the reward-”

“OH NO, OF COURSE. IT’S ABOUT DOING THE RIGHT THING AND UPHOLDING THE MORALS OF A SOCIETY FULL OF HYPOCRITES! YOU WERE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB OF LICKING THE BOOT-HEALS OF THE KING AND QUEEN. STANDING BEHIND THEIR SOCIETY OF HALF-TRUTHS AND PURE BLOODLINES!”

“That doesn’t excuse what you’ve done-”

“OH WHAT *I’VE* DONE? YOU REJECTED THE ONLY GIRL- THE ONLY PERSON ON THIS GODFORSAKEN PLANET THAT EVER LOVED YOU!”

Lord Kumquat glides closer to the mirror.

“AND YOU LOVED HER TOO. NOT ENOUGH TO STICK YOUR NECK OUT, NOT ENOUGH TO SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT THEY WANTED YOU TO SAY, BUT YOU LOVED HER!”

There’s a crack in the mirror, circular and precise as if made by a fist punching it.

“YOU LEFT HER TO DIE AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO LECTURE ME!?”

“I can’t even recognize you anymore; you’re a monster.”

“AND YOU’RE A GHOST!”

The reflection of Super Chris is forcefully pulled from the mirror and hoisted into the air by his throat.

“YOU WERE WEAK AND LACKED THE WILL TO ACT. I THOUGHT I KILLED YOU, BUT I GUESS I DIDN’T BURRY YOU WELL ENOUGH!”

The roof explodes as Lord Kumquat throws Super Chris out into the backyard. He then jumps after him. Chris throws a right hook that is caught in mid-air, then his wrist is twisted back. He screams out in pain while delivering a low-kick that actually connects with the kumquat. The giant fruit actually drops to the ground in pain. Chris spots a chest full of sports equipment. He takes off in a dead sprint and leaps for the chest. Lord Kumquat rises to hull height and grabs Chris, whipping him back at a break-neck speed. Chris turns around in mid-air and smashes him with a baseball bat. There’s a massive dent in the kumquat’s body as he leaks juice.

“No so powerful now huh?”

He reels back and puts another massive dent in the kumquat.

“I know this property too.”

Chris gets a running start and hits the kumquat so that he knocks him into a storage area that’s holding propane tanks. The entire thing explodes. Chris casually strolls up to the wreckage.

“I’m pathetic, huh? You’re a fruit. You betrayed everyone you ever loved: friends, family, especially yourself. And now, I’m gonna stop the end of the world. First I destroy you, then I destroy that witch that stole our heart!”

Chris stops walking and points the bat at the decaying body of the kumquat.

“That’s our ultimate form, huh? What a joke.”

The kumquat bursts open and out of it rises Lord Kumquat’s ultimate form. He looks just like the old Chris, but he’s 10 feet tall, orange, and has skin like the inside of a kumquat. His eyes fly open, glowing bright red.

“HA-”

Lord Kumquat blasts an overwhelming laser blast from his hands and completely evaporates the old Chris.

“-HA”

Lord Kumquat walks over to the spot where the old Chris once was. He bends down to inspect something on the ground.

It’s a red butterfly.

He picks it up and holds it up to the sky.

“BE FREE, MY LOVE.”

And he crushes the butterfly in his fist.

————————————————————————————————————

To the shock of Dr. Franklin, the glowing scar lifts off of Kristen’s stomach and blasts apart into billions of parts. Lord Kumquat snaps out of his trance and returns to full hight.

“THE CURSE HAS BEEN LIFTED.”

“Curse? What do you mean curse?”

“I PRESUME YOU HAVE A NATURALISTIC EXPLANATION FOR WHAT JUST HAPPENED, DOCTOR?”

Dr. Franklin is silent.

“PUT HER BACK UNDER AND PREPARE HER FOR THE OPERATION?”

“Operation? You mean-”

“WITH THE CURSE GONE, THERE ARE NO MORE TRAPS OR PRECAUTIONS LEFT TO STOP US. IT’S TIME TO GIVE THE ELDEST HER FULL POWERS BACK.”

On the counter is a container with a swirling purple cloud inside. It’s labeled “_Valdra Muinthel_- The Spirit Of The Queen”

“WE’LL START THE PROCEDURE IN TEN HOURS.”

————————————————————————————————————————-

The sun finally returns back to its normal color and Kristen, now fully awake jumps out of the hammock and lands on a very terrified Phantom.
They both just stare at each other for a minute.

“Bad dream?” he asks.

[Masøn M.]

(https://www.google.com/search?q=modok&safe=active&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLzoLMxs_WAhXFylQKHW2yDM4Q_AUIESgB&biw=375&bih=603#imgrc=fMbH3E-7wVw0_M:

Legitimately all I can picture Kumquat as… Also, absolutely beautiful… Also, HOWWWWWW DAAAARRREEEEE YOOOOUUUU milk of Chris…)

[Masøn M.]

(**kill off Chris… I’m not even gonna comment on that…)

[riseofthekumquat]

(He *is* (or I guess *was*) Chris. I hope people don’t read this before the reveal in the story, but just to confirm, Chris became the kumquat.)

[Masøn M.]

(Ahh, I see)

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(Hahahahaha Modok.)

[riseofthekumquat]

(Out of morbid curiosity, I put that last entry into Word. It’s 5 full pages long. I may have gone a bit overboard.)

[riseofthekumquat]

(And while I was going more for Darth Vader, yeah that Modok comparison is spot on.)

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(You most certainly did not go overboard)

[riseofthekumquat]

(I think once Matthew said “Oh, you can enter more than one sentence,” we all knew it would come to this.)

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(Heh, yep.)

[Masøn M.]

(To be honest this is like a group project now… This isn’t just a game anymore. This is something we want to make beautiful…)

[Dawn]

“Um, I’m not entirely certain where they are” Chris said smoothly, “eeekci look spheres beyond.”
“Erm, what? Are you okay?” Dawn inquired, her brows knit together.
“k-k-k-k-a?” Chris asked. But his form…it was blinking, in weird rectangles. And then Chris suddenly glitched out of existence.
Dawn wheeled towards Manalive. “MANALIVE DID YOU JUST SEE THAT!?” Dawn nearly shouted, “PLEASE TELL ME I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO SAW THAT.”
“YOU’RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO JUST SAW THAT.” Manalive shouted. Suddenly, Manalive started twitching rapidly. Dawn ducked behind one of the tree/columns of the Haven as Manalive began the throes of CPSD.
“ORANGE A.C.C.U. TURTLE!” Manalive screamed, then fainted.
Dawn walked over to the collapsed Manalive. “Orange…A-c-c-u…turtle???” Dawn questioned as she moved him to a sitting position. “Huh. Glitches don’t exist in the realm of Tales of Goldstone Wood. So maybe the A.C.C.U. is some sort of program?” Dawn stretched her hand thoughtfully. “But it feels so real.”
Dawn rolled her shoulders. “I’m going to the library, Manalive,” she declared, “I don’t feel like dragging you to one of the beds, and I’m not even quite sure where they are, but I know I’ll be able to find the library. Call it reader’s intuition.”
Dawn turned to the lights flickering in the room, and glowed a commanding red. “Nidawi’s children, show me to the library.”
The lights blinked merrily and flew down a corridor. Dawn pursued the lights down the bright hallway and turned into the library.
And stopped.
The library stretched before her, books upon books upon books. The bookshelves completely lined the wall. So much knowledge. So many tales! Dawn darted to the closest shelf and pulled out a book.
“Ordenel Hymlume Nive, the Night of Moonblood.” Dawn whispered in awe.
She set the tome back lovingly and picked up another. “Famous Songs by the Bard,” Dawn read, and then flicked to a random page. “Gleamdren Fair I Love Thee True.” Dawn rolled her eyes expressively, “Yeah how truly you love GLEAMDREN, it’s not like you didn’t fall in love with Imraldera the moment you set eyes on her. HOW DRAGON-BLASTED LONG IS IT GOING TO TAKE YOU TO TELL HER?”
Dawn all but threw the enormous tome back on the shelf and grabbed a scroll on the floor, and noticed something off. “It’s…empty?”
Dawn sank to the floor, perching on her toes. She hadn’t read the Tales for a while. That must mean that this program was not directly linked to known realm of Tales of Goldstone Wood.
“Who are you?”
Dawn shot to her feet and whipped around. She turned to the center of the room and saw Imraldera, the Lady of the Haven. Dawn nearly shrieked, “Imraldera! Oh, didn’t you sense the protections were passed through?”
“I see you now. How do you know my name?” Imraldera inquired.
Dawn looked at her. “Well, don’t you know mine?” Dawn answered.
Imraldera hesitated, then started, “Yes…Your name is one full of-”
“Yup. I don’t need you spouting my true name for all to hear though. After all, my brain must’ve supplied you the right answer to you. The true Imraldera wouldn’t even need a second to discern my true name. But maybe you can give me some advice, all the same. What’s the best way to get out of a program?”
Imraldera blinked twice. Then a third time. “I-I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re asking.”
Dawn began to move out of the library, and turned her head back as she said, “Well, have a lovely time, also Eanrin is absolutely head over tails for you so maybe encourage him some alright?”
Letting out a gusty sigh as she exited the library, Dawn retraced her steps back to Manalive. Manalive was just beginning to stir.
“Waking up, sleepyhead? Great. We’re in some sort of computer program, I’m not entirely sure if you’re with me, and I just met Imraldera and it went nothing like I ever imagined it would.”
Manalive squinted up at Dawn and rubbed his head. “Yeah I said we were in the ACCU didn’t I?”

“Yes and you also said something about an orange and a turtle. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it.” Dawn stated.
Manalive shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure about an orange, but I think we got captured by a bunch of Franklins,” Manalive said.
“Oh that Franklin. I haven’t seen him in ages. WAIT THERE’S MULTIPLE?” Dawn nearly screamed.
“Well, he did make the ACCU, and he used his Time Lord powers to divide himself in order to control the unit. Always a paranoid one, that Franklin. The Anti-Cerebral Control Unit has a section for virtual reality and simulations, so I’m guessing we’re in that one. Since we’re the only ones who’ve ever read Tales of Goldstone Wood, I suppose somehow it shot us there?”
Dawn sighed. “I guess so. But that doesn’t negate the fact we need a way out of here.”

[PHANTOM OF THE AUX CABLE]

Kristen quickly jumped out of the Phantoms arms,

“What are you doing here? And where is here?” Kristen asked.

The phantom stood up and scratched his head. The phantom was tall and lean with dark hair and his only attire seemed to be a suit and a mask.

“Well I don’t exactly know where we are, my transportations only work to find people, I think of who I want to be with and it takes me to them. I came, here…. wherever that is.” The Phantom said.

“Is that Josiah!?! And Kye? And MASON??? Why are they here? Oh Oliver you always have gotten on my nerves.” Kristen put her hand into a fist and held it straight up above her head. She looked as if she was trying to use her powers somehow. “Great i’m stuck here with all of you. My powers aren’t working, it won’t let me make a portal.”

“So it looks like we will have to work together then my love!” Phantom said with a giddy spirit.” First we need to find out our surroundings. If doesn’t seem to be the earth I left. Must be some sort of different dimension. Hmmm and you were under such a deep sleep maybe that has something to do with it. You started to glow on your side and the sky got crazy for a moment.”

“My side!?!? Wait let me check,” Kristen lifted the lower corner of her shirt, her butterfly was gone, the curse,,,, had been lifted. ” My curse, I am not cursed anymore. My powers will finally return and I can fulfill my plan! The world will be mine, and my love will be mine.”

“I could be yours” The phantom said broken hearted.

“You could never be mine” Kristen said, ” I must be in recovery mode right now, thats why my powers aren’t working. But how is my curse lifted the only one who can lift it is Chris, or someone like Chris, who… oh no Phantom, I know where we are, we are in a simulator, by the ACCU.”

” Well I can sense my powers working, but I won’t leave you Kristen, I can-” suddenly the Phantom fainted. Behind him stood Mason, with a frying pan, he had knocked out the phantom, Kye and Josiah were free also. Kye had worked off the necklace and shapeshifted. Which means the simulator only is restricting Kristens powers.

“Stay back Kristen, we don’t want to hurt you and you can’t do anything to us without your powers,” said Josiah.

[Masøn M.]

(GOT ‘EEEEEEMMMMMM…)

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(Nice work, Mason!)

[Awkward Potato]

(Frying pans. Who knew, right?)

[Josiah the Carrot Stick]

(Hahaha, so true.)

[Wileycoyote]

(Tangled is my favorite )

[riseofthekumquat]

(“Kristen, what simulation? Kristen how do you know we’re in a simulation? Kristen, what’s that over there? What’s that on the ground? IS THAT THE SCRIPT!?”)

[Wileycoyote]

(Maybe Kristen knows because she is in a way their leader right I mean idk it’s all so confusing)

[Masøn M.]

(I’m starting to think that perhaps introducing the Franklin Folk was a mistake lol…)

[Wileycoyote]

(It ’tis a bit confusing )

[superchris01]

(I think we should backtrack a bit and recycle some of the concepts just introduced.
I like the Franklin idea but I no longer know what’s real or not. So I propose that the few already mentioned in the ACCU stay there and its its own dimension they got sent to after the split.
This thread is getting long anyway so it might be time for part 2)

[Dawn]

(and we can correct some of the confusing information by having a “previously” thrown in with a summary of what important stuff happened in part I.)

[Author]

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